Why?! It wasn't that long ago when the Vikings and Cowboys were notorious for bringing in "troubled" players. Jerry Jones still does it to a certain degree. The Vikings are past that stage. I guess they figured it out after the "party boat" incident. They, and most every other team in the NFL, have figured out that winning is not conducive with troubled talent. At least now, the Vikings are headed in the right direction. The Cowboys have managed to control it pretty good...so far. The Cowboys benefit from good leadership. Top down starting with Jerry Jones, Wade Phillips and even Tony Romo have been the glue that keeps the team together. I must give credit to Jones, I did not think he would be able a top contender considering his past issues with salary cap and aging players. He has infused the right amount of veteran leaders with the young talent.

OK...back to the Bengals. They have no leadership. This team has been peppered with distractions. Chad Johnson has been a distraction in a bad way. It's harmless to a certain degree. To his credit, he does stay out of trouble with the law. But the world has to rotate around him. It's "Chad this" or "Chad that." Oops...I meant Chad Ocho Cinco. See what I mean? Chris Henry is worse. All the arrests led the team to cut him. What did they do? They resigned him several months later. That's an indicator that the player wins. I don't know what Carson Palmer was doing while this was going on, but as a team leader, he needs to stand up and take control. What the heck is Marvin Lewis doing? Who's managing this team? NOBODY! In some way, you have to feel bad for Lewis. There's only so much he can do.

Benson's role hasn't been defined with the team yet. If Chris Perry and Kenny Watson are really that dinged up, then Benson may be forced into action. Why Benson? I think Shaun Alexander could've been a safe pick. It would've only been a short term solution but it would have been somewhat productive. Of course the Bengals chose the young, talented guy instead. Benson's resume doesn't even closely begin to stack up to Alexander's. There's a long list of players that the Bengals could've chose from...MIke Anderson, Ron Dayne, Tatum Bell. It's a wonder why the Bengals settled on Benson. Even before the Bears cut him, Benson was already in danger of losing his job.

I can't imagine that Lewis is on a very long leash. he needs to make something happen in the short run and start winning games NOW. I don't see Benson as a short term solution...just a long term headache. But you know what? If Benson doesn't work out, you can always go after Travis Henry.